


rightness and recollection

by guardyanangel



Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Book: Prince Caspian, Canon - Movie, Gen, Historical, Missing Scene, Storytelling, Worldbuilding, movieverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-04-17 04:12:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4651824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guardyanangel/pseuds/guardyanangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucy tries to understand this new Narnia by learning about its origin in an old way. For the Narnia Fic Exchange 2015.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. telling tales

**Author's Note:**

  * For [songsmith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/songsmith/gifts).



> I do not feel worthy to be writing a fic for the wonderful songsmith, who wrote what is quite possibly one of my favorite fics ever, but here I am! I hope you enjoy this. I drew on a couple of the prompts you suggested, mainly:
> 
> 1) Caspian the first's conquest of Narnia, or the early days of the Telmarines in Narnia.  
> 2) Tell me the missing stories of Narnian history, like the founding of Archenland, or Gale going after the dragon, or something you come up with yourself.
> 
> This is also inspired by [this scene](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByJ8DvhfpwvgZGxlOHZsZEFDcVk/view?usp=sharing) that they included in the Prince Caspian videogame.
> 
> Shout out to [howlikeagod](http://archiveofourown.org/users/howlikeagod), Tumblr user [ambientmagic](http://ambientmagic.tumblr.com), and my friend Luke for beta-ing this piece. All remaining errors are mine; Narnia is not.

The lost battle at the Castle Caspian had been a terrible blow, and there was a heavy grief that hung over Aslan’s How as the Narnians settled in for another night. The air was tinged with an odd sort of cold that only those who had lived during the time of the Witch recognized, but all felt its chill and huddled closer to the fire as a result of it.

Lucy, still a little shaken by the events of the Witch’s near-summoning but recovering well, found herself settled by Trufflehunter in front of the fire. The badger seemed subdued—It was difficult, after all, not to grieve a friend, even if they proved in the end to be a false one.

For a long while, they sat in silence, but soon it came to be too much to bear. Lucy shifted to try to meet the badger’s eyes, “Trufflehunter?”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“You’re a badger, yes? So you must know stories.”

She recalled well, after all, how in the days when she and her siblings ruled at Cair Paravel, the badgers had eventually come in droves to tell the tales their families had kept alive: The history of Narnia the Witch had tried so hard to subdue, but never had. The Animals had proven an invaluable resource to the monarchs and to those attempting to chronicle their reign and the time before it, and one had always remained on hand in court to tell tales when ceremony behooved them to do so.

The badger studied her for a moment, before nodding, “I do.”

“Oh, wonderful.” And it was wonderful, despite the fact that the sorrow in the air still lingered. She couldn’t help but feel relieved that this much had not changed about the land she had loved, “Would you… Would you tell me one?”

“Which would you like to hear, Queen Lucy?”

It was a good question, and one she allowed to settle into her heart when it was asked. There were so many she wanted to be told. She wanted to hear what they said about their reign all those years ago. She wanted to see what they remembered of the time before they arrived.

She wanted to know, desperately, what had become of those she had cared for a thousand years ago.

Watching the solemn faces of the Narnians flitting about them in the How only solidified the final question for her, and she turned back to the badger with a more sober expression on her face than had been seen out of her yet.

“What happened?” she finally asked, “How did Narnia go from… from where we left her to-- this?”

The badger’s sigh was heavy, but he settled into the taletelling position that she recognized after a moment. Lucy, feeling a tingle in the air almost like magic, waited with bated breath to hear what had become of the land she loved so well.

 


	2. recollection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trufflehunter's story

In the time following the disappearance of the Four Kings and Queens, a great shadow fell upon Narnia that was darker than the blackest night and colder than the Witch’s Winter. Lord Peridan, beloved by the Pevensie House and the Narnians, stepped forward reluctantly to try to guide the kingdom as it began to fall into chaos. He never permitted himself to be called _king_. He barely tolerated being called _regent_ , and surrounded himself with other trusted Narnians to rule the land by committee.

Many Narnians, hopeful that their rightful rulers would return, privately agreed with him.

 

A year after their disappearance and the Stone Table was converted into Aslan’s How. The structure, made of stone and Narnia’s good earth, protected the Table and served as tribute to the Kings and Queens. Dwarves set aside their metalwork for a time to take up stone carving, etching the images of the Pevensies and their tale into the walls. In an appeal to Aslan, they made the room housing the Table the most artistic, with a likeness of the Lion carved so deeply into the stone it would never fade nor be altered. It was hoped that the tribute (they refused to call it a memorial) would appease either Aslan or the lost Pevensies, and bring the Kings and Queens back to them.

The appeal failed, and with all their energy and hope hinged on the return of the Kings and Queens, the Narnians neglected to think of what the world outside of the kingdom’s borders would think of the new state of things. As the years passed, those outside of Narnia began to think a great many things.

To the North, the giants grew restless as they heard that High King Peter no longer stood ready to defend his land’s borders. To the East, the Lone Islands began to cease sending tribute when they found that Queen Lucy was no longer there to expect them. To the South, Archenland reeled with the loss of beloved Queen Susan, and Calormen turned its eyes and its armies towards its northern enemies once more.

To the West, the Narnians thought there was nothing but wild and silence, for King Edmund was not present to hear the danger in the quiet.

 

Lord Peridan fell in a conflict with the giants, and that was the last time a Son of Adam would hold sway over Narnia for many years. Archenland, recognizing the Narnian blood in its royalty, tried to assist, but the Narnians’ faith in their Kings and Queens made them stubborn and intemperate, and as Calormen rose up against Archenland once more, the smaller kingdom needed every man at its southern borders.

As it had not been since its inception, Narnia was a land of Beasts alone, and, as Beasts do in times of great strife, the Narnians focused on taking care of their own. The dryads and the hamadryads remained near or within their trees. The Beavers built their dams and refused to travel far from them. The Centaurs kept to their packs, taking up their bows and arrows no longer to defend Narnia as a whole, but to protect themselves from those who would do them harm.

The Badgers witnessed all these things and remembered them, remaining with their families to ensure the tales would be told.

 

Years turned into decades, and still in the privacy of their own homes and hearts the Narnians believed that the Pevensies or even Aslan would come again. New Narnians were born with the Lion’s name on their tongues and faith in the Four Kings and Queens in their heart. And when the West exploded in a cacophony of sound and fire, the Narnians found in that faith one last desire to come together to defend their home.

The Telmarines ripped through Narnia with their war machines and the desperation of a people half-starved. The Narnians fought, in small groups or large ones, but despite the shared drive to protect their home, they could not find it in them to band together as they might have under the standard of a king.

At least, they could not until the Telmarines fell upon Cair Paravel, and the very earth _roared_ at the injustice.

 

A finer day had not been seen since High King Peter was there to rally the troops into battle. In defense of their home and their Kings and Queens, the Narnians fought with tooth and claw and steel and stone to keep the Telmarines from taking this castle. A great many Narnian lives were lost, but a great number of Telmarines were, as well. It was said that the battle cries of the Narnians were but three things, over and over:

_For Narnia. For Aslan. For the Kings and Queens._

The Badgers witnessed all these things and remembered them, returning to their families to ensure the tales were told.

Daunted by the show of force, the Telmarines left the Cair defeated, swearing that ghosts or demons inhabited its walls. The Narnians rejoiced, thinking it a final victory.

It was not the case.

 

A young general, a man the Telmarines called Caspian, refused to accept defeat. He asked his men if they wished to live forever homeless, wandering from place to place without a land to call their own. He asked his men if they wished their wives and children to starve as they surely would if they returned to famine-altered Telmar.

And the Telmarines answered, and they said, _No_.

And so Caspian entreated them to remember they were men, and that the Narnians were but animals. He reminded them of their history as a small but mighty people, and reminded them of how people had always hunted. He appealed to them to return to the most basic of instincts to survive, as they were trying to do now. He told them to build their homes and hunt.

 

It is said that all in Narnia heard the screams of the dryads as their trees were felled. It is said that the naiads and river-gods frothed their waters in protest as the Telmarines altered their course to provide for the crops they wished to grow. It is said that every Narnian wept when an Animal was first shot down to be eaten. 

The Telmarines did what men did best, and took what they needed and more to survive. The Narnians fought, but without a leader they could not persevere against the more cohesive unit that the Telmarines had become. As their numbers dwindled, they retreated deeper into the woods to save themselves.

 

By then, that young general had grown and become a grandfather. As the Narnians began to be considered little more than ghosts, and the land yielded to them, Caspian III and the Telmarines thought it right that he style himself king of this land that his grandfather had helped conquer. Near to where the Witch had once built her castle, the Castle Caspian was constructed, and Caspian III took the throne of Narnia and Telmar, and told his people that this land was their home now and forevermore.

And the Narnians that lived to hear of this wept at the knowledge that this exile within their own land would be a permanent one. And the Badgers witnessed all these things and remembered them, returning to their families to ensure the tales were told. And so I, descendant of those witnesses, tell this tale to you, so that all may know of the Telmarine conquest of Narnia and how, without its Kings and Queens, a once-proud kingdom was lost to darkness and steel.


	3. rightness

As Trufflehunter’s words faded into silence, Lucy came to the sudden realization that she was weeping. After a few moments longer, she became aware that she was not the only one—that other Narnians had heard the tale and, being overcome by either the emotion of the tale itself or the fresh losses to this thousand-year battle, were also expressing their grief. The queen saw that at some point Caspian had joined them, and was looking clearly shaken by the story he had just heard. 

Noticing Lucy’s tear-filled eyes on him, the prince dipped his head, abashed, fingers plucking nervously at his pant leg. 

“That was...” His voice was hoarse, the lump in his throat audible. He swallowed and coughed once to try to clear it, “...That is not the way we tell it. I had not-- truly known.”

“You will find, Prince Caspian, that the tales the victors tell of their victory are often much kinder to them than the victims would be,” the badger replied, sounding weary.

Lucy nodded, rubbing slightly at her eyes to try to clear her vision, “...Thank you for the story, Trufflehunter.”

“You are welcome, my Queen. I only regret that it causes you such grief.”

“It is a grief we were already feeling, being parted from home without choice and coming back to find it like this,” she answered quietly, “And grief is truly not something to be so afraid or hurt by. With grief comes healing.”

She thought she heard a smile in Trufflehunter’s voice as he replied, “Queen Susan always said you were an optimist.”

“I have faith, Trufflehunter,” she answered, “Out of every sorrow I have borne, the Lion has always given me a greater joy.” 

“Would that I had your faith-- or your hope,” Caspian murmured, “Things look very bleak, just now.” 

“If we seek the Lion, I know that that bleakness will grow brighter. Narnia had held hope for us and for Him for a thousand years. Surely now that we are here, we can hold on hope a little longer that He will come, as well.”

“Your arrival is promising,” Trufflehunter agreed, “After all, when you came before, He was there not long after.”

Lucy could not help but smile at the badger, nodding, “Exactly. We just need to seek him.”

Glancing around at the other Narnians and the prince, she saw the beginnings of light driving away the shadow that had settled over them after the battle. In that light, she saw another chance.

“I owe you a story,” she told Trufflehunter, “Please, all of you, get settled. I have one to share. A hopeful one, this time.”

Caspian looked hesitant, but she held his gaze and smiled in a way she hoped was encouraging, and eventually the prince nodded. When he looked more comfortable, Lucy beamed, and turned her attention back towards the other Narnians.

“It is easy to be discouraged,” she said, “Once, my siblings and I were, too. But we held onto our faith and our hope in Aslan, and each other, and all of you, and I like to think it all came to right, at least for a little while.” 

She could have sworn, for a moment, that she heard the Lion’s rumble of approval, and that kept her smiling as she began to speak.

“ _Once, there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy_ …”

And as she spoke, she watched as the shadows of grief and darkness began to be chased away in the faces of those around her and in her own heart, and she knew that somehow, soon, things would come to right once again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of it! It ended up being a lot more "have a little faith"-y than I anticipated, as that's not usually my style. It must be the Lucy factor. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!


End file.
